Page 26 of Shifters' Fated Summer
“Werewolves are weird. But I can’t complain about the food.”
“Want me to go get more?” he asked.
Shaking my head, I gathered up my courage. “Actually, we need to talk about me leaving.”
Luca set his bowl down and wiped the back of his hand over his mouth. “Where do you want to go?” he asked, trying to look casual, but his intense focus betrayed him. Ice prickled in that stare, tightening my muscles and sending adrenaline through my bloodstream.
“Don’t worry, I’m not planning on going back to the vampires. But I can’t stay here. I’m not one of you - Cade made that very clear. I don’t belong in a werewolf pack, even if it’s pretty nice.”
“But youcouldbelong here,” he said, eyes the color of a winter sky imploring me.
Frowning, I studied his expression. His mouth tightened, jaw ticking, causing a dimple to appear. He was hiding something.
I’d already figured out that Luca was honest to a fault, and holding this truth back was bothering him.
“Luca?” I asked sweetly.
“You can’t leave. Not yet.” He ran his tongue over his lip piercing again nervously.
“Why the hell not?” My hands fisted on my hips. “First, it was the venom thing, which I get, I really do. But now it feels like an excuse.”
His answer came out in a rush. “Because you’re a werewolf and you’re going to shift for the first time in about a week!”
Impossible.
I stared blankly, unable to process what he claimed.
I wasn’t a werewolf like him. I’d been painfully human for nineteen years.
“The venom suppressed your wolf. Now that you’re clean, you should shift on this full moon. Or the next one at the latest.”
“Uh,” I mumbled, “What? How?”
“It was how you survived for so long when the other donors were dying,” Luca continued, oblivious to the world tilting on its axis around us. He hesitated. “And werewolf blood is especially rich for vampires, so that would explain Evrin wanting to keep you for himself.”
My breathing quickened into sharp little gasps. The room swam as I continued to hyperventilate. The sensation reminded me of venom withdrawals, which only heightened my panic. My pulse pounded in my ears.
“Summer,” Luca murmured. “It’s okay. Breathe.”
He placed his hands on my upper arms and took adeep breath, trying to guide me, but I couldn’t get a hold of my quick, shallow pants.
Swaying, I felt my panic rising like water filling a room. I was drowning in it. Luca’s grip tightened on my arms, and then he was pulling me forward.
He fell back, resting against the headboard with my body draped over him. My arms snaked around his shoulders. My cheek rested against the crook of his neck, and I found myself nuzzling into him. He smelled so good, and my panic started to fade.
His hands smoothed down my back, calming me further. I was lost in a haze of comfort, and my hands moved to his neck, my wrist rubbing over the other side, right below his ear. I wanted to snuggle into him, crawl into his skin.
“Summer,” Luca said again, startling me. His hand gently gripped my wrist as he extracted me from him. “I think that proves it.”
“What?” My stomach flipped, unsure of what he was referencing.
Luca’s head tipped back, giving me his signature smirk. “You were scent-marking me.”
“I waswhat?” Clutching my wrists against my chest, I sat up, scooting away from him.
“Don’t freak out again,” he said. “It’s a normal instinct thing. You see me as your pack, maybe asmore, and you wanted to mix our scents. You rubbed your face and wrists over my neck.”
My lips parted, and I blinked at him for a moment. “Instinct?”
